Thibaut Courtois/import
| image = | fullname = Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois | dateofbirth = | cityofbirth = | countryofbirth = | dateofdeath = | cityofdeath = | countryofdeath = | height = | position = | currentclub = Atlético Madrid | clubnumber = 13 | youthyears = | youthclubs = | years = | clubs = | caps(goals) = | nationalyears = | nationalteam = | nationalcaps(goals) = | manageryears = | managerclubs = }} Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois born 11 May 1992) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid in La Liga on loan from Chelsea, and the Belgium national team, as a goalkeeper. Despite his young age, he is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Club career Early career Born in Bree, Courtois began his career with local side Bilzen V.V.,where he started his career as a left back. Soon after, in 1999, he joined Racing Genk at the age of seven, and it was there that he was converted into a goalkeeper. Genk Courtois at Genk during the 2010-11 season After progressing through the Genk youth system, Courtois, aged 16 years and 341 days, made his first team debut for Genk on 17 April 2009 against Gent. He was a key figure in Genk's title victory in the 2010–11 season in the Belgian Pro League. He received the Goalkeeper of the Year and Genk's Player of the Year award, only conceding 32 goals over the course of 40 league matches and keeping 14 clean sheets for Genk. Chelsea In July 2011 Courtois joined English club Chelsea, signing a five-year deal. Loans to Atlético Madrid Courtois playing for Atlético Madrid in 2013. Within weeks of joining Chelsea, Courtois was sent on a season-long loan to La Liga club Atlético Madrid. He made his debut for Atlético in a UEFA Europa League match against Vitória de Guimarães, followed by his La Liga debut, a 0–0 draw with Osasuna. Courtois became first choice keeper over Sergio Asenjo, keeping four clean sheets in his first six La Liga games. On 26 November 2011, Courtois received his first red card of his professional career after fouling Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, as Atlético lost the Madrid derby 4–1. Atlético reached the 2012 UEFA Europa League Final, and Courtois kept a clean sheet as the club won 3–0 over fellow Spanish side Athletic Bilbao. Courtois' loan to Atlético was extended to cover the 2012–13 season. His first game of the loan extension was against parent club Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup final in Monaco, which ended in a 4–1 victory for Atlético Madrid. Later in the season Courtois set a new Atlético Madrid record of 820 minutes without conceding a goal at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, ended by being beaten in a 1–0 loss to Real Sociedad. Atlético reached the 2013 Copa del Rey Final, and Courtois was named man of the matchneeded in a 2–1 victory against city rivals Real, the first time that Atlético had beaten Real in 14 years. For the 2013–14 season, Courtois' loan to Atlético Madrid was extended by a further 12 months. International career Courtois was first called up to the Belgium squad in October 2011 and made his debut the following month in a friendly 0–0 against France, making him the youngest goalkeeper to ever play for the Belgian national team. Controversy In April 2013, Courtois was caught in the eye of a storm when a magazine revealed that he had an affair with the former girlfriend of Kevin De Bruyne, Caroline Lijnen, while she was in Spain. De Bruyne did not talk publicly about the case, but on social networking sites he showed his displeasure several times. It even came to a point that national team coach Marc Wilmots had to negotiate between De Bruyne and Courtois because they didn't want to play together anymore. In the end, Wilmots succeeded. In February 2014, Courtois again caused some stir in the Belgian national team, by saying that Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet should stay "humble and respectful and he should remember that". Though, in previous interviews, Mignolet had only said that it was his ambition to keep working and try to regain his spot in the national team. Thibauting Inspired by Courtois' pose from a particular save in January 2013, a new word called Thibauting has been designed to pay homage to the Belgian goalkeeper. On November 2013, the word was included in a list to be polled to determine the best new sports word of the year in Belgium. External links Category:Players Category:Atlético Madrid players